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The Call to a Larger Life 

A Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent by Rev. Dr. Laura Truax 


Selected passage for reflection: Genesis 12:1-3 


Read

Genesis 12:1-3 NRSV

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him.



Reflect

The other day, I went into Subway and ordered what I always order at Subway: Spicy Italian. On wheat. I can’t remember the last time I changed up my menu order. I went home by the route I generally take. I made a dinner for guests—a sheet-pan supper of marinated shawarma chicken—that is in my regular rotation. I called it a day and went to bed at roughly the same time I generally retire. A regular day.


Not all my days are routine. But the vast majority are. I bet yours are too. 

There is that well-known story about how Albert Einstein kept his wardrobe simple: 4 black pants, 4 black shirts. He didn’t want to waste any energy on small decisions. I like to think that much of my routine is motivated by something similar. I want to give my best energy to a higher ordering of things. You too, perhaps? 


This is the sensitivity I bring to the great call of Abraham story found in our text of Genesis 12. It shares similarities with various “Call” stories in literature. An individual is addressed by a power or a person beyond themselves. That voice invites them on an unknown journey (Abraham in Genesis 12) or on an unknown way of living (as Jesus with Nicodemus in John). The divine invitation is sometimes accompanied by a warning: “You will go where you don’t want to go,” as Jesus told Peter in John 21:18. The call even extends to Jesus himself, as he wrestles with its implications: “Let this cup pass from me!” in Matt. 26:39. They are all invitations to a larger life. 


The clear and uncompromising reality in all these passages is that the life we long for requires us to walk unknown paths and make uncomfortable choices. Life with God in the Spirit demands a certain unknowing on our part. A particular surrender to choices that are not our own. 


Last week, I followed a nudge and texted a family member I hadn’t spoken to since January 2020. We have some different views, and I needed some space. But recently I became aware that my space was just run of the mill routine. I was operating in my comfort zone. 

We have started a dialogue. It’s uncharted territory in some ways. And that’s the point. Sure, this is a small action. But it’s gotten me thinking about something that would be pretty big for me: offering our little coach house as a sanctuary to a landscaper I know. I don’t know what will come of that either, but I sense it is another nudge. I want to be where God is calling me. That is what Abraham wanted, too. He left everything he knew to follow. 


Respond 

Listen. Get still enough to feel what is uncomfortable in you. Sense what is unknown and scary. When you feel the nudge to move, then do so. 


Rest 

We give you habits, our routines, our comfortable ways, and our well-considered opinions. We hand over our established views, our curated books, and our rich circles of friends. Take us to the unknown. Lead us to the places where you want us to stretch out and offer shade. 


About the Author


Laura Sumner Truax is a writer, a minister, and increasingly, a socially engaged citizen grounded in the practices of centering prayer and meditation. She leads an online daily practice on the Meditation Chapel platform. She is a theologian-in-residence at the virtual upstart Olive Tree community and a member of the Red Letter Christians community. Laura posts on Facebook, and Instagram @freerangechristian

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